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This Writing World

Hi everyone! We took a little unscheduled break from the blog but we are in FULL WRITING MODE so get ready to be dazzled! (or not...) Jenn and I have decided that we are attending a writing conference in San Diego at the end of January...so the 1st draft of our book has to be ready to present and PITCH by January 24th!!! I'm having a little anxiety attack thinking about that...

This writing thing/adventure/whirlwind has been a roller coaster of emotions. So happy to be fulfilling a dream, so scared to be rejected and/or ridiculed, so frustrated that there are not enough hours in the day to write all the ideas that flow through my head, so excited when we have a SOLID 4 HOURS of writing time...the list goes on. This adventure has opened up so many opportunities, and introduced us to a whole new world. A world of editing, publishing, agents, marketing, book signings, writing conferences, and maybe most importantly, the authors inside of us. Finding her, that writer that was hidden deep down inside, has been an amazing and challenging experience for me.

I started out as a Journalism major in college. Hated it. Probably should have switched to English but I loved my Psychology teacher so I majored in Psychology. It has been good to me, but I have found my way into a VERY analytical branch of the profession and a few years ago thought I would D-I-E if I didn't find a creative outlet. The God that loves me intervened and I found a great writing group. It opened my eyes to the possibility of being an author. It changed my focus and made something come alive in me.

When Jenn shared with me her passion for writing after a girls' night out, I invited her to the writing group and the rest is history! We have grand plans for writing retreats all over the world, including but not limited to: a cozy cabin in the mountains of Idaho, a beach hide-a-way in Hawaii, and a moss covered, thatch-roofed cottage in England. Can't you just picture that? A low fog laying over the green covered, rolling hills and a roaring fire in the fireplace. Quaint furniture, warm socks and hot tea. Ahhhh....pure love. I can completely visualize this so that means that it will come true one day, right? Right.

So, along with dreams of our hearts, comes the reality of life. Jenn and I are not in our 20's (thank goodness on so many levels) and we do not have the luxury of devoting hours upon hours in a week to our craft. We rarely both have a few free hours on a Saturday to see if we can fit in some writing time or a networking mixer. A week will go by and I realize I have not put pen to paper except to make a grocery list or fill out papers from my children's school. The discouragement sets in and I feel overwhelmed.

Why am I even doing this? Who am I fooling? I suck.

My head hangs low and my dreams appear unreachable and out of touch. That is why, if I were giving a seminar to young writers, or even to people who want to be writers, I would recommend having a writing partner. Jenn has the ability to, for lack of a better visual, "light a fire under my ass" and get me motivated to believe in myself again. Maybe it's because she finds herself in the same boat and can relate because her feelings are an identical match to mine. Luckily, we are often on opposite schedules of feeling defeat and despair so we are actually helpful to each other. Writer types are very emotional but often don't wear emotions on their sleeves. It simmers, bubbling right beneath the surface and with a little inspiration it will explode out of us and hopefully resonate with our readers. Our lovely readers.

We are so thankful for you! Many of you have taken the time to stop by our favorite writing spot (you all know where!) and given us encouragement or just shared a kind word and let us know that you have actually read what we have written and you LIKED it. What?? Do you even have the slightest inkling of what that means to us? We are giddy. We appreciate you. You keep us going. Even when we (read I) don't write on this blog as much as I should or want to, I think of you out there clicking on our link and reading the stories that I share. It means something. We are creating something, good or bad, and we are taking a risk. Daring to suck! So while you may not love everything printed here in black and white, (or grey and yellow), it represents something for us. We took a chance and we are running with it. We had a spark of an idea and it has developed into a full-fledged blog and that led to the sentences of an idea for a book that we are weeks away from finishing. Thank you for being on this journey with us. We have no idea where it will lead us or how long it will take to get there, but we are full of hope and determination and the dream of our little thatched cottage in the woods. Sometimes that's what it takes. Plus, someone who will light that fire when needed.

We will be posting snippets of our book for your review, but not until we can push the POST button without feeling sick. Please be patient! We love you!

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We are Holly and Jenn, friends since our teens were in kinder and writing partners since we learned of a shared dream and were brave enough to chase it. Currently obsessed with hot tea, rainy days, lovely writing and Netflix, you will find us contemplating ALL the things here on our blog. We write YA fiction and hope to bring insight, inspiration, and a healthy dose of levity to other writers on the path to publication. It is the best of times.